Pittsburgh Pirates - TeamReport

The Pirates made three deals in the hours leading up to Thursday's non-waiver trade deadline. However, they weren't the types of trades contending teams usually make.

Pittsburgh acquired first baseman Gaby Sanchez and minor league pitcher Kyle Kaminska from Florida for minor league center fielder Gorkys Hernandez on Tuesday and also got right-handed reliever Chad Qualls form the New York Yankees for corner infielder Casey McGehee and $225,000. That came after the Pirates picked up outfielder Travis Snider from Toronto in the wee hours of Tuesday morning for righty reliever Brad Lincoln.

While Qualls will help fill the middle-relief hole left by the trade of Lincoln, Snider and Sanchez figure to make bigger impacts. Snider is expected to play every day in right field, and the right-handed hitting Sanchez will fill the short half of a platoon at first base with Garrett Jones.

Snider and Sanchez are being asked to help a contending team despite spending the majority of the season at Class AAA. The moves seem odd on the surface, but the Pirates were determined not to mortgage their future by trading top prospects for established available outfielders, such as Philadelphia's Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino, Cleveland's Shin-Soo Choo and Arizona's Justin Upton.

"We were able to acquire players who we feel will be helped by a change of scenery, will be energized by being in a pennant race and will help us now," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said. "Travis Snider and Gaby Sanchez are talented players. We just did not see the value in trading our top prospects. You have to remember there are no sure things. If we would have traded for a veteran player, there were no assurances that he would be any more successful than the players we acquired."

Huntington also likes that Snider and Sanchez will be under contractual control through at least the 2015 season.

"The cost for rental players was much too expensive this year," Huntington said. "We have two good players who could be with us for a numbers of years, and that's exciting."

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MLB Team Report - Pittsburgh Pirates - NOTES, QUOTES

--RHP A.J. Burnett continued to pitch like an ace as he threw a one-hit shutout in a 5-0 victory over the Cubs in Chicago. He missed his shot at a second career no-hitter when INF Adrian Cardenas hit a two-out pinch-hit single in the eighth inning after home plate umpire Jeff Nelson called two close two-strike pitches balls. Burnett struck out eight, walked two and threw 108 pitches as he won for the 12th time in his last 13 decisions to raise his record to 13-3. Burnett threw a no-hitter in 2001 while with the Florida Marlins.

--OF Travis Snider made his Pirates debut Tuesday night in a 5-0 victory over the Cubs in Chicago after being acquired late Monday night from Toronto in a trade for RHP Brad Lincoln. Snider batted second and went 1-for-4 with two runs scored, a walk and a strikeout. Snider spent most of the season at Class AAA Las Vegas, but the Pirates were encouraged that he hit three home runs in 10 games after being called up by Blue Jays.

--RHP Chad Qualls, acquired from the Yankees for 3B/1B Casey McGehee and $225,000, has gone 2-1 with a 4.89 ERA in a combined 43 relief appearances with Philadelphia and New York this season. However, the Pirates' scouts liked what they saw of Qualls in recent outings, and he believes he has regained the touch on his sinker, his best pitch, after working with Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild.

--1B Gaby Sanchez hit just .202 with three home runs and 17 RBI in 55 games with Miami this season, a year after he was selected to the All-Star Game. However, the Pirates believe they can get Sanchez back on track after acquiring him and minor league RHP Kyle Kaminska on Tuesday in a trade for minor league OF Gorkys Hernandez. The Pirates are encouraged that Sanchez has shown the same bat speed he had in past seasons.

--1B Garrett Jones will return to his natural position, first base, following the Pirates' acquisition of OF Travis Snyder from Toronto in a trade late Monday night. Jones has started 37 games in right field this season and 33 at first base. However, Snider will now be the full-time right fielder.

--INF/OF Drew Sutton was designated for assignment. Sutton, 28, hit .243 with one home run and seven RBI for the Pirates in 24 games after being claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay. He had been playing left field against left-handed pitchers for most of July until OF Starling Marte was recalled from Class AAA Indianapolis last week.

--RHP Daniel McCutchen's contract was purchased from Class AAA Indianapolis on Tuesday. McCutchen, 28, was 5-2 with a 3.56 ERA in 26 games, one start, with Indianapolis. He pitched in 73 games for the Pirates last season. In 107 games, 15 starts, with them from 2009 to 2011, McCutchen was 8-10 with a 4.67 ERA.